More than 50 child asylum seekers still missing after disappearing from Kent care

"These figures are shocking. Behind each number is a frightened child who will already have experienced egregious human rights abuses before arriving in the UK seeking safety. When we represent children who have escaped after being trafficked whilst missing' in the UK, we see how their mental and physical health is permanently harmed by the abuse they experience during this time. For one child to go missing represents an abject failure of the state to protect the most fragile and abused in their care."

"Many of the missing children arrived in small boats or hidden in the backs of lorries and are thought to have been taken by traffickers. Kent is often the place where they arrive. Freedom of information data from Kent county council (KCC), which is controlled by Reform UK, has documented 345 children going missing from their area, with 56 of those still missing."

More than 50 lone child asylum seekers remain missing after arriving in the UK while in care. Many arrived in small boats or hidden in lorries and are believed to have been taken by traffickers; Kent is a frequent arrival point. Freedom of information data from Kent County Council records 345 children going missing from the area, with 56 still missing. Between 2021 and 2023 two Home Office hotels in Kent recorded 132 children missing (108 later found, 24 still missing). Between 2020 and August 2025, 213 went missing from reception centres (182 found, 32 still missing). Albanian children were the largest nationality group, followed by Afghans and Iranians. Missing children face lasting mental and physical harm and represent failures to protect vulnerable children.

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